The Elizabethtown College Democrats hosted a seminar on women in politics Feb. 27. The seminar included different women in local politics to speak on what they do in the field and answered different questions. The speakers were Jen Quinn, Mary Auker-Endresand Jo Ellen Litz.
The focus of the event was to educate students about all the different opportunities that are in the world of politics. It also was made to encourage young people to learn about just how big of a role women do play in politics.
The idea came about by political director of the College Democrats senior Andrea Guscott. Guscott got the idea from a book by Hillary Clinton titled, “What Happened.” In the book, Clinton writes about the disparities between men and women in politics. As Guscott was reading this, the idea of hosting this event came to life.
The first speaker was Quinn. She has a degree in forestry and another in environmental law and policy. She is the Legislative and Political Director at the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club and works with the Sierra Club volunteers to identify and support candidates at the local, state and federal level. Most of the time she works in Harrisburg for science-based environmental policies.
Quinn talked about her experience in Harrisburg and how men dominate the workplace. When she looks around during a hearing, she notices a lot of blue and black suits. In her experience, a rough estimate of 20 percent of the lobbyists are women.
However, she still appreciates the work she does. She celebrates any victories that happen in the legislature and loves empowering people to engage in government on issues that matter to them.
The next speaker was Auker-Endres. She graduated from Lebanon Valley College and her first experience in politics was writing speeches and doing research for a local state house representative. She then went onto working on different state and national level campaigns. In 2018, Auker-Endres ran for state house. She now works as a consultant now for campaigns and helps local candidates who run for office.
Auker-Endres encourages women to run for office even if they do not have a law or political degree; they can still make a difference. In her experience, she found that talking about personal connections is the best way to get to know people and understand where they are coming from when expressing their dislike about a subject.
The last speaker was Litz, president of the Swatara Watershed Association. The mission of the association is to ensure clean water and take care of the Swatara Water Trail. She is a six-term Lebanon County Commissioner who champions seven-generation projects. These projects include farmland preservation, the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail and recently purchased the Camp Shed.
Litz is also the president of the Woman’s Club of Lebanon which gives away scholarships to community organizations and is the past-president of the Northern Lebanon Rotary Club. She encourages young women that want to run for a political position to volunteer for something that they are passionate about.
She also warns them about the dangers of posting online. “Don’t do anything or post anything that you wouldn’t want your mother to know about,” Litz said. They could come back to haunt you as they live on.
A last piece of advice she gives is to not be afraid to fundraise. If a woman decides to run for a political position, money needs to be raised. Thinking of creative ways to raise this money like a spaghetti dinner can help in the long run.
The College Democrats hope that people took away a message that resonated with them during the event. For more details on upcoming events from the College Democrats, email collegedems@etown.edu.
